Toy bubble-blowing lawn mower

ABSTRACT

A toy bubble-blowing lawn mower is disclosed having a wheel driven impeller coupled to a propeller for generating a stream of air. The impeller is also intermittently coupled to a bubble disk in either direction of rotation of the impeller for successively moving apertures in the disk covered by a bubble-forming liquid film into alignment with the stream of air.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to toys, and more particularly to a toybubble-blowing lawn mower.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It is known in the art to use bubble making apparatus in a toy as shownin Treuthart U.S. Pat. No. 2,579,714; Baggott U.S. Pat. No. 2,675,641;Ellman U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,263; Corbett U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,260; andConstance U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,673. The use of a turbine coupled to arotating bubble, wheel is shown in Saachy U.S. Pat. No. 2,452,794; BartU.S. Pat. No. 4,423,565; and Scott Canadian Pat. No. 487,368. Aunidirectional gear drive for an impeller is shown in Hopkins U.S. Pat.No. 2,974,438. An intermittent motion mechanism is shown in MehlfelderU.S. Pat. No. 1,225,151.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a toybubble-blowing lawn mower is disclosed comprising a lawn mower bodysupported for back and forth movement of wheels. A propeller is mountedfor rotation of the body, and is enclosed by a housing having a firstopening through which a continuous stream of air is directed uponrotation of the propeller. A reservoir is formed in the body below thestream of air for receiving a bubble-forming liquid. A bubble disk ismounted on the body for rotation in a first plane normal to the streamof air with a portion of the disk immersed in the bubble-forming liquid.The disk further has a plurality of radially and equi-angularly spacedapertures adapted to pass through the liquid in succession upon rotationof the bubble disk to form liquid films across the apertures. Animpeller having a cam is rotatably mounted on the body, and is coupledby means to the propeller for unidirectionally rotating the propellerduring rotation of the impeller in either direction. The impeller isfurther coupled by means to one of the wheels such that rotation of thewheel is one direction rotates the impeller in one direction, androtation of the wheel in the opposite direction rotates the impeller inthe opposite direction. Means are also provided for intermittentlycoupling the impeller cam to the bubble disk for intermittentlyadvancing the disk in one direction of rotation upon rotation of theimpeller in one direction, and in the opposite direction of rotationupon rotation of the impeller in the opposite direction. The filmcovered apertures in the disk are intermittently and succesivelypositioned into alignment with a stream or air which blows the liquidfilm into bubbles.

In another aspect of the invention, the impeller has a gear and thepropeller has a pinion. The means coupling the impeller to the propellercomprises a doublet gear moveable along an arcuate path. The doubletgear has a pinion in constant meshing engagement with the impeller gear,and a drive gear moveable into driving engagement with the propellerpinion upon rotational movement of the impeller in one direction, andout of driving engagement with the impeller gear upon rotationalmovement of the impeller in the opposite direction.

In a further aspect of the invention, the wheel is secured to a shaft.The means for coupling the wheel to the impeller comprises a pulley onthe shaft, a pulley on the impeller, and a belt coupling the pulleystogether.

In another aspect of the invention, the impeller is cylindrical and theimpeller cam is V-shaped and mounted on the periphery of the impeller.The impeller has an annular peripheral ring in alignment with the apexof the cam. The ring has a notch in register with the impeller cam of awidth substantially equal to the width of the cam. The bubble disk has ashaft at right angles to the impeller and substantially in alignmentwith the impeller cam. The shaft has a plurality of radially andangularly spaced, axially extending cam followers engageable insuccession by the impeller cam upon rotation of the impeller in eitherdirection of rotation.

In a more specific aspect of the invention, the lawn mower body has aspout connected to the reservoir through which a bubble-forming liquidcan be poured into the reservoir. The body further has a second openingin alignment with the air emitting first opening and one of the diskapertures such that bubbles blown from the aperture are emitted throughthe second opening.

One of the primary advantages of this invention is to provide a toybubble-blowing lawn mower that simulates to a certain degree a lawnmower of the type used by adults. The noise produced by the inertiapropeller simulates a lawn mower internal combustion engine, and theemitted bubbles simulate the exhaust emission of the engine.

The invention and its advantages will become more apparent from thedetailed description of the invention presented below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the detailed description of the invention presented below, referenceis made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the toy bubble-blowing lawn mowerof this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, segmental bottom view of the toy lawn mower ofFIG. 1 with the bottom body cover removed; and

FIG. 3 is a partial section view taken substantially along line 3--3 ofFIG. 1 with portions of the lawn mower omitted for purposes of clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the toy bubble-blowing lawnmower 10 of this invention comprises a body 12 simulating a push-typelawn mower. The body 12 encloses a bubble-blowing mechanism, to bedescribed hereinafter, and also rotatably supports a pair of axles 14 towhich wheels 16 are rigidly secured. The toy lawn mower 10 further has ahandle 18 pivotally secured to body 12 by which the lawn mower is pushedor pulled by a child.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the bubble-blowing mechanism comprises avertically oriented impeller 20 having a stub shafts 22 at the endsthereof journalled for rotation in top and bottom portions of body 12.

The means or mechanism for rotatably driving impeller 20 in eitherdirection of rotation comprises a V-shaped pulley 24 secured to one ofthe axles 14, a V-shaped annular groove forming another pulley 26adjacent one end of impeller 20, and an endless stretchable belt 28 ofcircular cross-section interconnecting the pulleys. Accordingly, back orforth movement of lawn mover 10 by a child rotates wheels 16 and axles14 in one direction or the other. This, in turn, imparts rotationalmovement to impeller 20 in either direction of rotation.

The means for producing a continuous stream of air for bubble-blowingcomprises a vaned propeller 30 rotatably mounted within a body housing32 on a fixed vertical shaft 34, the ends of which are secured to body12. The propeller 30 is unidirectionally driven by a gear traincomprising a pinion 36 on shaft 34, a ring gear 38 on impeller 20, and aunitary doublet gear 40 interposed therebetween. The doublet gear 40 isvertically oriented and has stub shafts 42 and the ends thereof, onlyone of which is shown, moveable within grooves 44. The doublet gear 40has a pinion 46 in constant meshing engagement with impeller gear 38,and a larger diameter coaxial gear 48 engageable with propeller pinion36. Rotation of impeller 20 in one direction causes doublet gear 40 tomove to a propeller-engaging position in which gear 48 meshes withpropeller pinion 36 and drives propeller 30 in one direction ofrotation. Rotation of impeller 20 in the opposite direction causesdoublet gear 40 to move to a propeller-disengaged position in which gear48 is disengaged from propeller pinion 36. Accordingly, propeller 30 isrotatably driven in one direction only, and is provided with sufficientweight to function as an inertia propeller so that it continues torotate for a length of time after the drive force from impeller 20 isremoved.

The propeller housing 23 has a peripheral opening 50 communicating witha passage in a manifold 52 mounted in body 12. The passage ends in anopening 54 through which a continuous stream of air is directed uponrotation of propeller 30.

Means are also provided for successively moving films of bubble-formingliquid into alignment with the stream of air to blow bubbles. The meanscomprises a disk-shaped bubble disk 56 having a plurality of radiallyand equi-angularly spaced apertures 58. The disk 56 has a large diameterintegral central shaft 60 having axle portions 62 journaled for rotationin body 12.

The body also forms a semi-cylindrical reservoir 64 (FIG. 3) forreceiving a bubble-forming liquid, not shown, into which a lower portionof disk 56 is immersed. Any suitable bubble-forming liquid, such as asoapy solution, for example, is introduced into reservoir 64 through aspout 66 formed by body 12, as best seen in FIG. 3. Upon rotation ofdisk 56, apertures 58 passing through the liquid are covered by a filmof bubble-forming liquid. When each film covered aperture 58 is movedinto alignment with the stream of air, bubbles are blown from theaperture and through an opening 68 (FIG. 1) in the body into theatmosphere.

The means for indexing bubble disks 56 in one direction or the other toposition and hold an aperture 58 in alignment with the stream of airwill now be described. The indexing means comprises a V-shaped cam 69mounted on the periphery of impeller 38. An end of disk shaft 60 has aface plate 70 facing impeller 20 which is provided with four radiallyand equi-angularly spaced cam follower pins 72 axially extending towardimpeller 20 in almost abutting relation. The pins 72 are arranged inrelation to cam 69 such that upon each revolution of impeller 20, cam 69engages a pin 72 and rotates it along with disk 56 a predetermineddistance to place a succeeding film covered aperture 58 into alignmentwith the air stream. The disk 56 is held in the aligned position by anannular ring 74 on the impeller 20 substantially in alignment with theapex of cam 69. The ring 74 has a groove 76 in register with cam 69 andof substantially the same width as the cam to allow clearance room for apin 72 as it is cammed through its predetermined angle. Following thecamming action, ring 74 is in abutting relation with oppositely disposedpin 72 to prevent futher rotation of the pins and disk 56 until the nextcamming action.

In operation of the invention, movement of the toy lawn mower 10 in aforward direction causes rear wheels 16 to drive impeller 20 which, inturn, drives propeller 30 for generating a stream of air. Rotation ofimpeller 20 also causes cam 69 to index cam follower pins 72 and bubbledisk 56 through a predetermined angle once for each revolution ofimpeller 20 to position the next succeeding film covered aperture 58 inalignment with the air stream. As this occurs, the air stream blows thefilm to form bubbles which are blown through body opening 68.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed with particularity, it will be appreciated that variouschanges and modifications may suggest themselves to one having ordinaryskill in the art upon being apprised of the present invention. It isintended to encompass all such changes and modifications as fall withinthe scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A .[.toy.]. bubble-blowing .[.lawn mower.]. toy comprising in combination:a .[.lawn mower.]. body; wheels rotatably mounted on said body to support said body for back and forth movement; a propeller mounted for rotation on said body; a housing on said body enclosing said propeller, said housing having a first opening through which a continuous stream of air is directed upon rotation of said propeller; a reservoir formed in said body below the stream of air for receiving a bubble-forming liquid; a bubble disk mounted on said body for rotation in a first plane normal to the stream of air with a portion of said disk immersed in the bubble-forming liquid in said reservoir, said disk having a plurality of radially and equi-angularly spaced apertures adapted to pass through the liquid in succession upon rotation of said bubble disk to form liquid films across said apertures; an impeller mounted for rotation on said body, said impeller having a cam; means coupling said impeller to said propeller for unidirectionally rotating said propeller .[.during rotation of said impeller in either direction.].; means coupling at least one of said wheels to said impeller for rotating said impeller upon rotational movement of said wheel; and means intermittently coupling said impeller cam to said bubble disk for advancing said bubble disk upon rotation of said impeller to successively position film covered apertures into alignment with the stream of air which blows the liquid films into bubbles.
 2. The bubble-blowing .[.lawn mower.]. .Iadd.toy .Iaddend.according to claim 1 wherein said impeller has a gear, said propeller has a pinion, and said means coupling said impeller to said propeller comprises an arcuately moveable doublet gear having a pinion in constant meshing engagement with said impeller gear and a drive gear moveable into driving engagement with said propeller pinion upon rotational movement of said impeller in one direction, and out of driving engagement with said impeller gear upon rotational movement of said impeller in the opposite direction.
 3. The bubble-blowing .[.lawn mower.]. .Iadd.toy .Iaddend.according to claim 2 wherein said wheel is secured to a shaft, and said means coupling said one wheel to said impeller comprises a pulley on said shaft, a pulley on said impeller, and a belt coupling said pulleys together.
 4. The bubble-blowing .[.lawn mower.]. .Iadd.toy .Iaddend.according to claim 3 wherein said impeller is cylindrical and said impeller cam is V-shaped and mounted on the periphery of said impeller, said impeller further having an annular peripheral ring in alignment with the apex of said impeller cam, said ring having a notch in register with said impeller cam and of a width subtantially equal to the width of said impeller cam, said bubble disk has a shaft at right angles to said impeller and substantially in alignment with said impeller cam, and a plurality of radially and equi-angularly spaced, axially extending cam follower pins at one end of said shaft engageable in succession by said impeller cam upon rotation of said impeller in either direction of rotation.
 5. The bubble-blowing .[.lawn mower.]. .Iadd.toy .Iaddend.according to claim 4 wherein said body has a spout connected to said reservoir through which a bubble-forming liquid can be poured into said reservoir, said body further having a second opening in alignment with said first opening and one of said apertures such that a bubble blown from said aperture is emitted through said second opening. 